Dr. Barrera has been recognized for his achievements in research and education and for his efforts in minority mentoring and recruitment to engineering. His awards include the NASA Group Achievement Award (2001), NASA National Research Council Senior Fellow at the Johnson Space Center (1999), the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award (1993), the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (2002) and the Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Award Conference Award (2003).